R&D – Fit for future

Which trends and challenges will research and development (R&D) managers face in the years to come? Which approaches are successful in practice? In its current “R&D Fit for Future” study, Fraunhofer IAO uses survey results, case studies and example projects to present a variety of ideas for how to design R&D to be future-ready.

Industrial research and development (R&D) changes quickly and constantly due to new technologies and market developments. Accommodating these ever growing and shifting requirements means being both well prepared for change and able to recognize the opportunities and risks inherent in strategic design options.

New solution methodologies to meet industrial R&D’s requirements

Fraunhofer IAO’s “R&D – Fit for Future” study tackles current issues, presenting not only the latest findings about trends and success factors in research and development but also tried and tested company practices and methods.

Customer orientation is becoming increasingly important

More than 160 industrial R&D professionals from German-speaking regions participated in the trend survey – mainly in the mechanical engineering, automotive and medical technology industries – and evaluated the most important R&D trends. According to the respondents, at the moment more and more companies are increasingly orienting themselves towards their customers and customer needs. One major tendency showing a pronounced customer orientation and clear focus on customer benefit is to involve customers directly in development. Another is to develop employee skills in a targeted manner. Strategic orientation and effectiveness are once again a central issue for R&D management, as established in the 2009 survey. Experts also cited that designing R&D processes was one of the most important topics.

Successful implementation and Fraunhofer IAO’s R&D assessment

In its third section, the publication features case studies of effective industrial R&D as well as the Fraunhofer IAO’s R&D assessment service to provide detailed insights into the practice and analysis of key R&D topics. It uses six separate cases to present different companies’ recipes for success. Fraunhofer IAO’s R&D assessment service offers a holistic approach to improving industrial R&D, analyzing strengths and weaknesses within the five dimensions of R&D: strategy, organization, processes, methods and tools, and employees.

The study (in German) is now available in the Fraunhofer IAO Shop as a printed version or as an e-book for €80

Print version of the study: http://shop.iao.fraunhofer.de/publikationen/fue-fit-fr-die-zukunft.html?id=635
E-Book version of the study: http://shop.iao.fraunhofer.de/publikationen/fue-fit-fr-die-zukunft-e-book.html?i…

Contact:

Erdem Gelec
R&D Management
Fraunhofer IAO
Nobelstraße 12
70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone +49 711 970-2055
E-Mail: erdem.gelec@iao.fraunhofer.de

Adj. Prof. (QUT) Dr.-Ing. Frank Wagner
R&D Management
Fraunhofer IAO
Nobelstraße 12
70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone +49 711 970-2029
E-Mail: frank.wagner@iao.fraunhofer.de

http://www.rdm.iao.fraunhofer.de/en
http://www.iao.fraunhofer.de/lang-en/business-areas/technology-innovation-manage…